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Six-plus feet of sculpted muscle, Kodiak was beautiful to look at. His quiet, reserved demeanor only added to the appeal. With a deep voice as smooth as honeyed whiskey, he spoke in this deliberate, easy cadence, that drew her in, forcing her to listen closely to every word.
It was his eyes that spoke to her, though. Like Jesus on the cross, he’d suffered. She could see it in the pale-green prisms. They held secrets, but even so, they told her enough. She and Kodiak were the same. Broken. Maybe they could fix each other, because as odd as it might seem, Kelly still wanted him.
Just once.
Before she was dead, Kelly wanted to know what it felt like. All of it. A strong, hard body covering her soft one. Hungry, heated kisses that stole her breath. Skin slick with sweat. Hot flesh penetrating her.
His.
Kelly had to know what it was like to be with a man she wanted. On her terms. A man who wanted her too. Christ, she was going on thirty, and she’d never experienced that. Not really. Was it crazy to think that with Kodiak she just might like it?
“Are we gonna fuck?”
“Maybe one day. When you can admit you want this dick and beg me to put it inside you.”
She thought she could say it now.
It was probably too late for that anyway. A long time had gone by since that drunken encounter on New Year’s Eve. But they could be friends at least, couldn’t they?
Maybe.
She wanted to try.
One day rolled into the next, each day no different than the one before. Every morning Kodiak woke up in the little row house on Oak Street where Linnea once lived, then after putting in his five miles, walked the five city blocks to Park Place. Two weeks since that horrible day, and still, every morning he arrived to find his sister asleep on her couch.
It worried him.
He didn’t wake her. Walking softly to the kitchen, he took a seat at the island and opened his laptop. They had a routine now. Kodiak came by every morning, staying through lunch, when Chloe joined them in the afternoon. Then he’d leave, returning in the evening with Dillon.
They weren’t babysitting her—Linnea would never stand for that. But she needed the love and support of her people. To know she wasn’t alone. Dillon did too, more so than his sister did probably, though he’d never allow himself to admit it.
Going through his emails, he saw he’d received one from Barbara, checking in on him, at two in the morning. Course, that was only midnight to her. She was his shrink during his stint in Cali. He snickered to himself. God, how he’d hated her then—as much as he loved her now. He had a session with her on Zoom every couple of weeks. Kodiak could see someone else here, he supposed, but he was comfortable with good ole Babs. She knew his convoluted story. Every bit of it. And the last thing he wanted to do was relive it, by having to tell it all over again.
Once was enough.
Babs didn’t seem to agree, encouraging Kodiak to confide in the people closest to him, those he loved and trusted—especially Linnea. She knew some of it. Bo most of it. But then some things were too abominable to ever be spoken of again. He’d carry them silently to his grave.
He already lost a wife.
He couldn’t risk losing his sister too.
“Good morning, big brother.” Her arms coming around his neck, Linnea kissed the top of his head. “Breakfast? I think I’ll make us a frittata today.”
Kodiak smiled. “Sounds good.”
That was her thing of late. Her coping mechanism. One day she started tearing up the kitchen and she hadn’t stopped yet. His sister was like him in that regard—anything to keep busy. He was just glad she was eating.
“What do you feel like for dinner tonight?” Her head buried in the fridge, she set a carton of eggs on the island behind her. “I was thinking eggplant parm. They’re in season, not to mention on sale, so I ordered some.” She turned around then. “Unless you want something else?”
“No, eggplant sounds good.”
“You always say that.” She stood there, raking her fingers through her hair.
Truth.
“I’m a guy, Linnea. I’ll eat anything.” Pushing his Mac to the side, Kodiak leaned forward onto his elbows. “You slept out here on the sofa again. How come?”
“Don’t know.” She shrugged. “Easier to fall asleep there, I guess.”
